gallery lights

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martinmckenna
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gallery lights

Post by martinmckenna » Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:06 pm

There are few problems with the gallery lights , alice i think wanted to change them a while ago . at the time i didnt understand why . iwas helping john set up his show and he had problems with them.

1) there are too low and tend to spotlight things rather than illuminate the room .

2) there is a lot of red light coming out the back of the lights.

3) people have been putting 50watt bulbs in them and there are melting . john has changed them all to 30 watt now .

4) we only have 5 left.

one idea i have to find some old florescence lights and hang them . kinda like a factory. those old metal types you get . i think if we could do it would give the gallery a bit of distinction . i also like those old light fitting in the hall .

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ravanwin
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Post by ravanwin » Mon Feb 11, 2008 3:30 pm

nice ideas. i hate ikea lights

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Martin
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Post by Martin » Mon Feb 11, 2008 4:32 pm

Fluorescent lights have wacky colour spectrums that can make colours look way off what they would do in daylight or incandescent light. Some are better than others, but certainly old cheap ones may not be the best thing to light a gallery with.

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martinmckenna
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Post by martinmckenna » Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:05 pm

the light fitting them self may be old , but we can put modern lights in them . its the look am going for .
the main problem is the unevenness of the light in gallery . i cant really comment too much on how painting look in different lights as i only use white . i would think a lot of artist dont use natural light much , as it an very uneven . and prefer whatever electric light they can get . It an interesting subject . how electric light has effected art . maybe that my reasoning for florescence lights . the industrial nature of it .

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stephengoodall
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Post by stephengoodall » Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:30 pm

its something i've never really looked at in other galleries- lighting. co0uld be good to do a quick scouting mission to see what others do and how good it is.

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Post by swithun » Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:47 pm

I was thinking about the light in the gallery the other day. I noticed that I cast a shadow on the paintings. Maybe you need to get extra close to the ones being exhibited just now, but I would have thought that something more diffused and ambient would be better.

Just my 2W.

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martinmckenna
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Post by martinmckenna » Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:12 pm

ive been thinking on whats been said and can come up with a solution that suits the needs of art today . the florescent idea maybe as bad as the ikea idea . i think what we are talking here temperature of the light and eveness of distribution .

A scouting mission would be fine . and also taking note on how shows look in the space .

i would think a good all over distibution of light that can be dimmed if need be .and spots .

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ravanwin
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Post by ravanwin » Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:53 am

ken can probably help with this as he understands electrics. get an idea of what you want and we can set up a chat.

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Post by ken » Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:40 pm

for a general unfocused light it would be good to use a pair, or a couple of pairs of low energy lanterns similar to those that I installed on the front of suzies, pointed up at the ceiling to reflect back down. For spotlighting, there are now led lamps available for the cable fittings you have at the moment. These, again are low energy and heat free, without backwash. Both of these give a bluish rather than yellow light and are not so "warm" for those interested in colour temperature. I may be able to lay hands on a few lamp fittings similar to those you have at the moment if someone has managed to burn out most of those you had
consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds

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martinmckenna
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Post by martinmckenna » Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:12 am

thanks ken for your input ,

i guess the major concern is how much would this all cost ,

the uplights i think may do the trick ,coupled with new spots would be great .

anyone else have any other concerns on this

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Post by ken » Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:51 am

low energy floodlights come in at around £25-30 each and I have seen led di-chroic bulbs on the web at around 3 for £10 - though I have no experience of them apart from picture in catalogue, they claim 30,000 hours service life(?)
consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds

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Post by ken » Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:54 am

of course, lighting stuff is, ultimately, portable and can be moved when new premises come on line (unlike toilets)
consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds

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martinmckenna
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Post by martinmckenna » Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:12 am

i found some lights in b and q . industrial lights 5 quid each , so that would be 20 quid for 4 . this may help

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